Great Escape to pay $1.3M

Settlement reached after virus outbreak sickened 600 guests

Updated 8:19 am, Friday, May 10, 2013

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TIMES UNION STAFF PHOTO BY SKIP DICKSTEIN
Interior vew of the waterpark at The Six Flags Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Waterpark which opened to the public with a press conference today at the Lake George, New York resort February 7, 2006. less

TIMES UNION STAFF PHOTO BY SKIP DICKSTEIN
Interior vew of the waterpark at The Six Flags Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Waterpark which opened to the public with a press conference today at the Lake George, ... more

Photo: SKIP DICKSTEIN

Great Escape to pay $1.3M

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Queensbury

Lawyers who sued Six Flags Great Escape Lodge and Indoor Waterpark after hundreds of guests who suffered from an outbreak of a virulent stomach virus five years ago reached a $1.3 million settlement with the park's owners.

The Post-Star newspaper reported the settlement in the class-action lawsuit was outlined at a court hearing in Warren County on Tuesday.

State Supreme Court Justice David Krogmann gave preliminary approval for the award, the Post-Star reported, pending notification of more than 600 park guests who suffered vomiting and diarrhea from an outbreak of the norovirus, which is typically transmitted through food or water contaminated with fecal matter.

The resort includes a 200-room hotel and 38,000-square-foot indoor water park that Six Flags opened in 2006 across the street from the Great Escape amusement park, which opened in 1954 as Storytown USA.

One of the lawyers representing victims in the lawsuit declined to comment, citing confidentiality rules.

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The settlement was negotiated with a mediator, the Post-Star reported.

Rebecca Close, a spokeswoman for Great Escape, said the amusement park still contends the illness did not originate at its property.

Ultimately, the park's insurance company decided to settle the lawsuit rather than bring it to trial, she said.

"We exercise strict operational standards and meet or exceed all Department of Health guidelines," Close said. "We have safely entertained thousands of guests since opening in 2006 and we are looking forward to welcoming more families for the 2013 season and beyond."

Those standards include signage encouraging hand washing and good hygiene, hand sanitizer liquid placed in high-traffic areas and washing down all surfaces in the water park several times a day.